Attempting To Order The Latest Air Jordans Created The Biggest Headache Ever - And Much More For Many Others

In 1996 I was the MVP of my Jewish Community Center basketball league. I received the accolade not because of my superior talent or because I was the Rabbi's son. It was - as Mars Blackmon famously preached - about the shoes.

When I ran up and down that basketball court in my Air Jordan XI "Concords," I couldn't be stopped.

I could shoot, pass, block shots and do the tango. Or at least that's what I thought.

It was a dress shoe for the hardwood. It was the most fantastic and luxurious design I'd ever seen. It was unlike any shoe ever produced.

That beautiful white upper set against an extravagant black patented leather bordering the entire sneaker. When my good friend - and fiercest competitor - gifted me with a pair, I was the happiest eleven-year-old alive.

So when rumors spread that Nike and Jordan Brand would be re-releasing the coveted sneaker, I could hardly contain myself. Not even the $180 price tag could faze me.

What followed was 90 minutes of sheer frustration. It was the ultimate test in patience. And, ultimately, it ended in disappointment.

Personal information was entered. Then the site timed out. After a refresh, credit card information was entered. Then the site timed out. This happened at least eight or nine times. But for each temporary step backwards, I came two steps closer to the holy grail of basketball shoes. Only to have my heart ripped out again (and again).

Then it happend: the order confirmation page. I was there. I'd made it. So I clicked "confirm." And waited. And waited.

Nothing.

I went to bed saddened.

But when I woke up, I learned my displeasure was benign. My frustration was merely emotional. As it turned out for many others, the morning hours of Dec. 23 turned physical.

Hordes of individuals stormed retail stores all over the country for a chance at the Concords. And the results weren't all smiling faces and sweet smells of fresh kicks.

"It was a push mower but it was designed beautifully and it really provided some of the inspiration for the Jordan XI because the lawn mover has to be really rugged," Hatfield told Complex Magazine in 2008.

However obscure the inspiration may be, the results were and are incredible.

The original shoe wasn't to be released until the 1996 season. Jordan couldn't wait and wore them in the 1995 playoffs. As Hatfield suspected, Jordan's eagerness piqued the interest of fans to an immeasurable level.

"So I'm sitting there watching the whole thing on TV going 'Oh no!' But in the end it was kind of a funny story because we thought, 'Oh shoot, now people are to be really pissed off because they can't go out and buy the shoe until next season.'"

That was 15 years ago. It's been eight seasons since Jordan even laced them up for an NBA game. And Hatfield's premonition still holds true.

Only, this time, it wasn't exactly a funny story.

Not for me. And not for those individuals that walked out of retail shops empty-handed, battered and bruised.

This may sound ridiculous, but this pair of shoes really is that important to many people.

And, while I couldn't be more appalled by what happened across the country this morning, I'm one of them. Except now I'm just a guy unable to rekindle the basketball magic of his youth.

So you can bet I'll be online or in line with these same individuals in an indeterminate number of years when the Air Jordan XI Concord re-re-releases.